MILNROW battled hard to overcome a Wigan St Jude's side bolstered by several players from their National Conference side, at Firgrove on Saturday.

In the end it wasn't the presence of these players, but basic errors by Milnrow that cost them the match. The home side matched the visitors in every department, but a lack of defensive discipline, after they had taken the lead, cost them dearly.

Milnrow coach Kevin Lowe was satisfied with the commitment of his players, but he was left to rue their elementary mistakes. He said: "I can't fault the lads for effort. But once again we made too many basic errors, and allowed them back into the game."

Milnrow started well, and Tom Power was unlucky to see Dave Waddington's kick through bounce away from his grasp with the line at his mercy.

The home side continued to press, and Mark Buckley was held up over the line. From the ensuing scrum the ball was moved swiftly right for Wilde to dive in at the corner. The Wigan side struggled to find any fluency as Milnrow tackled as though their lives depended on it.

Sadly, when the visiting winger collected a high kick behind his own 20-metre line, the Milnrow men switched off, and he ran 60-yards to score. The try was converted to give St Jude's a 6-4 lead.

Milnrow, to their credit, bounced back with the try of the match. Hard driving by the forwards took the ball deep into Wigan territory. Glynn Buckley took the ball 20 metres from the Wigan line, showed the defenders the ball, dummied, and ghosted through for a try. Jon Storey converted, and minutes later Rob Whitemoss added a drop-goal.

At this stage Milnrow needed to consolidate, complete their sets of six, and stay focused on defence. They failed on all these counts as a loose pass gave the visitors possession. To compound their error Milnrow then dozed off in defence to allow Wigan to cross the line. The conversion put Milnrow one point behind.

Wigan had the final chance of the half, and it took a try-saving tackle from Power to save the day. The visitors then notched a drop-goal to give them a two-point lead at half-time.

The opening stages of the second half were a scrappy affair, as neither side was able to establish supremacy. Wigan squandered two good scoring chances before Milnrow wasted the best chance of the game. Fullback Storey broke from his own half, but with an overlap on his outside he chose to go inside, and the chance went begging.

It was to be a costly miss, as Wigan's right-winger couldn't believe his luck when the Milnrow markers stood back and offered him a huge gap. He didn't need a second invitation as he ran 70-yards to touch down for a converted try.

Wigan then settled for long downfield kicks as they sought to keep Milnrow in their own half. It was a tactic that worked as Milnrow, who have played very few matches since Christmas, tired and made countless mistakes.

Milnrow weren't helped by an inconsistent referee who ignored several high tackles from the visitors, but blew the first time Milnrow committed a similar offence.

In the end Milnrow were perhaps guilty of trying too hard when a little more composure might have served them better. Lowe's lads can't be criticised for lack of heart, and no one showed more of that than man of the match Waddington.